The

  training room hummed with the energy of a dozen girls, their eyes on

  the gnarled man in the middle of the group, looking them over

  individually. It was encouraging to see them all in their training

  robes, most of them having arrived in little more than rags stitched

  together with dirt crusted on their cheeks and beneath their

  fingernails. It still was a pitiful number for the army we needed,

  but it was a start. Mari had begun to regularly send girls back a few

  at a time, guiding them to the meeting stone then instructing them on

  how to arrive at the castle.

  “We

  will rise and reach for a connection to the conduit of power from the

  very stone of the castle,” he said, tapping his oak cane on the

  stone beneath him. “The substance beneath your feet is the easiest

  to draw from, so that is where we will begin.”

  The

  girls obediently scrambled to their feet, placing their feet a bit

  apart and looking towards the trainer with nervous eyes. I found

  myself reminiscing back to my own training days and remembering the

  serious lessons filled with warnings about all the things that could

  go wrong while drawing upon magic.

  There

  were more than just a few things that could overwhelm and consume you

  if you weren't careful. None of them were likely to be something as

  mundane as the power of an inanimate substance, but it was a healthy

  habit to be wary anyway. Magical auras, many too faint to recognize

  against the normal background magical energy, rose in power, and

  shone with their wavering, dull light. One of the girls that had come

  back with Mari on her first return had a wild, unruly magical aura

  that quickly grew, bumping into everyone else's and threatened to

  knock several girls out by consuming theirs entirely. With a quick

  grumble of recognition, the trainer hobbled over to the little blonde

  girl and gruffly barked for her to focus. Her face snapped into a

  serious expression and her expanding aura slowly stopped expanding

  and began to waver as she struggled to pull it back in. She had a lot

  of potential, I'd give her that, but without better control she would

  be of little use.

  The other girls were straining to make any meaningful expansion of will,

  none of them were even close to reaching towards the stone and

  communing with its latent power. Their faces were screwed up into

  expressions of effort, sweat appearing on many of their brows. I

  could not remember if it had ever been quite so hard for me, but at

  least some of the girls' aura shivered and pressed outwards as a sign

  of some growth. I had hoped against odds that somehow we might have

  ended up with girls ready in a few months, but the current recruiting

  efforts were not so fruitful.

  Leaning

  back against the doorway, I scanned over all the girls one by one,

  assessing each, until my eyes fell upon the real reason I had arisen

  early to watch. The once princess stood awkwardly, opening her

  scrunched up eyes to take peeks of the girls around her. Though she

  gave a great effort, nothing even approximating magical potential

  spilled from here. There was a void around her among the auras in the

  room, some even pushed into the space where hers should be and had no

  effect on the girl. Though she tried to keep her face even, the

  telltale signs of frustration were ingrained in her features.

  Moving

  silently, I left my position at the entry and slithered through the

  girls, careful not to bump any of them, especially with my own

  potential. They were still in a dangerous stage of their development

  where coming up against too powerful a magical entity could forever

  imprint itself upon them. None of the girls took any notice of me,

  their focus directly on their task, except the princess, who had

  nothing to focus on and therefore noticed my movement towards her

  long before I arrived. I greeted her with a half smile, then nodded

  to the trainer. He dismissed us with a wave of his hand, more than

  happy to be done with a student who had no potential. The girl looked

  up at at me, eyes wide as saucers, the kind of awe a child gets when

  they meet someone they admire and aspire to be. My half-smile widened

  at her reaction, thus far things had proceeded much as I had

  designed.

  I

  led the girl back to the dining hall, never turning back to ensure

  she followed or spoke, instead holding myself to the most regal and

  elegant stride I could muster. Once there, I took my seat at the head

  of the table and vaguely gestured towards another seat close enough

  to easily hold conversation. Adhering to my request princess Tiffany

  sat down and turned her attention to me. As soon as we both were

  seated, a servant brought out two steaming bowls of richly spiced

  porridge coated in honey and fruit, a much finer meal than the

  recruits were accustomed to. A look of relief passed over the

  princess' features, obviously she had been wanting for the royal

  meals of her past.

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  “So,”

  I said suddenly as the servant disappeared from sight, “how do you

  find your stay at the house Yser?”

  Princess

  Tiffany looked up from her bowl and gave me a slightly wary glance.

  My presence seemed to cause some sort of conflict in her.

  “It

  has been fine,” she said barely above a whisper.

  She

  was not a very good liar, she was unable to keep her face from

  betraying her true feelings. However, such could be worked on and

  improved.

  “Has

  it?” I said, sounding disinterested. I let the unsettled silence

  set in between us as I stirred my breakfast, all the while keeping my

  eyes on the girl. “I don't think I quite believe that.” She

  looked up, countenance now very assuredly nervous. “Could this be

  due to the fact that you are used to a finer lifestyle than the one

  you are afforded here?”

  She

  nodded and a look of relief crossed her features. “Yes my queen, I

  did not know that I would be coming to live the life of a commoner.”

  I

  allowed a soft, trilling laugh to escape my lips. “My dear, I do

  not think that you quite know what it is like to live as a commoner.

  I assure you that their lives are even less charmed than the one you

  currently find yourself in.”

  “Less?”

  The girl looked horrified.

  “Of

  course,” I explained, “I have been rather kind to you and given

  you opportunities that most commoners could only dream of. You are

  clean, warm, and fed regularly. That already is far beyond most

  commoners.”

  She

  furrowed her brow and raised her chin up, looking me directly in the

  eyes. “I am the daughter of king whom was intended to become a

  queen, why should I be treated any lesser at all?”

  I

  could not help the grin from spreading across my lips or the short,

  airy laugh. It truly was too easy.

  “Why

  indeed?” I questioned with mirth. “Why were you going to be the

  child bride of an elderly man and accept that you were to be his

  child bearing slave? You would have been expected to be meek and

  quiet, accept his wishes without question. Really, were you going to

  better off being lesser simply because of your sex?”

  The

  princess opened her mouth, but words failed to materialize.

  “Oh,

  did you never really think about what being subservient to a king

  meant before? Surely you must have seen your mother bow her head and

  give in to your father over something she felt strongly about.”

  Her

  jaw clamped tightly for a moment, it seemed I had hit a nerve.

  “It

  would have been the same for you. Remember, the king you were to

  marry was my father. I assure you that he would not have cared one

  single bit about what you wanted, it would have been all about him

  and you would have had to sacrifice your wants, desires, and dignity

  daily.”

  The

  princess lowered her chin once more and sat back in her chair, her

  eyes flitting away from me as her defiance vanished.

  “If

  I were you, I think I would be very angry with your father. He knew

  exactly what your fate was to be and sent you anyway.”

  “He

  did know,” she said quietly to herself. The food in front of her no

  longer seemed to appeal to her as she pushed it away, largely

  uneaten. “He really did know how old your father is?”

  I

  nodded solemnly.

  Anger

  flooded her features, tinting her cheeks a bright red.

  “Now

  you understand,” I said gently, “you were used for political

  gain. Your father thought your life and well -being was expendable.”

  She

  didn't say anything, but angry tears had begun to gather in the

  corners of her eyes.

  “Perhaps,

  he is deserving of a bit of revenge.”

  I

  let the statement hang in the air as I non-nonchalantly resumed

  eating my breakfast. I didn't need to look up at the princess to feel

  her mind mull over what I was suggesting.

  “What

  kind of revenge?” she finally asked, voice quiet as if afraid

  someone may eavesdrop on our scheme.

  “How

  would you like to rule your kingdom?” I asked.

  “But

  I am not in line for the throne,” she replied with confusion,

  “there's no way I would be allowed.”

  I

  let out another airy laugh and shook my head. “There is still much

  for you to learn. As women, sometimes we have to take what is

  rightfully ours.”

  “I

  don't understand.”

  “I'm

  sure you have noticed that I answer to no man.”

  “Yes,”

  she said with a nod, “you have a... consort.” Her face flushed

  and her eyes darted away from me.

  “A

  female consort, yes, I see you are not familiar with such

  arrangements.” I was greatly amused by her reaction. “However,

  why should women not enter into such unions more regularly? Men tend

  to want to dominate in every situation while women are more pragmatic

  and level-headed.”

  “I-

  I don't know,” she stammered.

  “Does

  not matter,” I said with a wave of my hand, “my choice of bed

  partners is just one example of how I have taken my own destiny into

  my hands. If you decide to take yours as well, you can make any

  choice you'd like.”

  “But

  I am here in your kingdom, my destiny is currently guided by you.”

  “Yes

  my child, for now, but one day you will be older and ready to lead,”

  I explained, “and when that day comes, I hope we are allies.”